The Supermarine Spitfire is probably the most famous British fighter of the Second World War. It was an all-metal machine with a low-wing configuration, characteristic elliptical wings, a classic tail and retractable landing gear. The prototype flight took place on 5 March 1936. The Spitfire proved to be the RAF's wartime staple, which continued to perform well after the war, remaining in production for 10 years. The Spitfire's story began on the drawing board of RJ Mitchell, Supermarine's chief designer. The first machines went to RAF units in 1938, but when the Battle of Britain began in the summer of 1940, there were already 19 squadrons of modern fighters at the airfields - together with the slightly older Hurricanes of the Islands, 600 aircraft were standing defending. As hostilities expanded, the Spitfire saw service wherever the RAF operated in the Far East, North Africa and Italy, during the Normandy landings and fighting in France, and finally during the operation in Germany in 1945. For many Britons, it became a symbol of victory in World War II. This wonderful machine has at least a dozen production versions. The most important are, among others, the first series-produced Spitfire Mk.I powered by a 1030 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin II engine. It was this machine above all that made such an excellent contribution to the Battle of Britain. Many versions of this model were developed, including PR Mk IA (reconnaissance version) or PR.IG (armed reconnaissance version). Another interesting version was the Spitfire Mk.V with a 1440 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 45 engine. Merlin 50 engines were also assembled later. Serial production of this version began in 1941 and was the RAF's response to the appearance of the Messerschmitt Bf-109F. Another very successful version is the Spitfire Mk.IX, powered by a Merlin 61 engine with a 4-bladed propeller. It was created as an opponent of the Focke-Wulf Fw-190 and was put into production at the end of 1941. This version was modified several times and, for example, in 1944 it got a new gyroscopic sight, an enlarged rudder or a different wing system. Another major version is the Spitfire Mk.XIV with a Rolls-Royce Griffon 61 engine and a five-bladed propeller. Serial production began in October 1943. One of the last series produced was the Mk.21 version. This version had a Griffon 61 engine, a heavily reinforced structure and sheath, the wings were lengthened, increasing their flight surface. Mass production began in March 1945. Technical data (Mk.XIV version): length: 9.14 m, wingspan: 11.23 m, height: 3.05 m, maximum speed: 717 km/h, speed of climb: 18.5 m/s, practical ceiling: 13,200 m, maximum range: 1815 km, armament: fixed - 4 x 7.7 mm machine guns and 2 x 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannons, suspended - up to 225 kg of bombs .
Focke Wulf Fw 190 F-8 is a German, single-engine, all-metal, covered-cabin fighter aircraft in World War II low-wing design. Pilots considered the Fw-190 a better aircraft than the Messerschmitt Bf-109. A self-supporting low-wing with a working Fw-190 skin was commissioned by the Luftfahrtministerium, assembled in the autumn of 1937. Kurt Tank submitted two propulsion proposals: the first with a liquid-cooled Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine and the second with the new BMW 139 radial engine. The latter was chosen and the work begun in the spring of 1938 was led by Obering R. Blaser. The first prototype of the Fw-190V1 was ready in May 1939 and was flown at Bremen on 1 June 1939 by Captain Hans Sander. The second prototype, the FW-190V2, armed with two MG131 and two MG17 machine guns, all in 7.92mm caliber, was flown in October 1939. To reduce drag, both were equipped with a tunnel air intake in the propeller hood, but engine overheating problems led to a return to the proven NACA shield design. Before the tests of these prototypes finally started, the decision had already been made to replace the engine of the BMW 139 with a stronger, but longer and heavier BMW 810. This required many modifications, strengthening the structure and moving the passenger compartment back, which later became a source of problems with the center of gravity. The advantage was the removal of exhaust gas permeation problems and overheating of the cockpit due to its direct proximity to the BMW 139 engine. The third and fourth prototypes were abandoned and the Fw-190V5 was completed at first with the new engine of 1940. Later, it received wings with a wingspan enlarged by one meter (from the original 9.5 m), which made it 10 km / h slower, but increased the rate of climb and improved maneuverability . It was marked Fw-190V5g and the shorter wing variant was Fw-190V5k. The first seven machines of the Fw-190A-0 information series had a short wing, the rest - a longer one. The first operational unit equipped with the Fw-190 - 6./JG 26 stationed at Le Bourget, declared its operational readiness in August 1941 and from the first encounter of the new fighter with the British Supermarine Spitfire its advantage over of them. During the war, a dozen versions of this large aircraft were created. Version "A" machines, along with a dozen or so upgrades, served as combat aircraft. Versions marked "B" and "C" were only prototypes of high-altitude fighters intended to combat strategic bombers, but did not go into series production. The "D" variant, as the only one of the Fw-190s, was powered by the new 1750hp Jumo 213A engine and was the German answer to the P-51 Mustang. The new engine extended the fuselage by several tens of centimeters. This variant also performed primarily hunting and high-altitude hunting duties. Numerous variants of the 'F' version were used as fighter-bombers as direct battlefield support. The 'G' version performed the same role as the 'F' version, but had a greater range. Over 20,000 copies of this one of the best fighters of WWII were produced during the entire war. Technical data (Fw-190A-8 version): length: 9 m, wingspan: 10.51 m, height: 3.95 m, maximum speed: 656 km/h, rate of climb: 15 m/s, maximum range : 800 km, maximum ceiling 11410 m, armament : fixed-2 13 mm MG131 machine guns and 4 x 20 mm MG151 cannons (2 MG 151 / 20E cannons for the D-9 version). REVELL No. 03898 SCALE 1:72
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